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Sunday, July 30, 2017

The Kildare Mansion

I did this post on The Kildare Mansion a couple of years ago. I have updated to include some of the more recent controversies surrounding this magnificent, haunted mansion. The Kildare Mansion was first famous for it's ghosts. It was built in 1886 by a wealthy Irishman named O'Shaughnessy. He built the castle as a reminder of his homeland, Ireland. He put a fortune into making it the most extravagant house in the area and he did a good job of it. This giant of a house overshadows everything around it. It has over 40 rooms and is over 17,000 square feet including the massive basement. In 1900, MR. O'Shaughnessy went blind and his wife Anna sold Kildare to the trust fund established for Mary McCormick who inherited a multi million dollar fortune from her father

Unfortunately, Mary McCormick was mentally ill and suffered greatly during certain periods. At the time, treatment options were limited so they kept her locked in the house and had several nurses and staff to take care of her. During her lucid periods, Mary a wonderful woman who was known for her kindness and generosity. For her entire life, she needed nurses to help her care for her mental illness. Finally she had to retire to a sanitarium, leaving her beautiful house behind.

From 1932- 1975, the Kildare Mansion fell into disrepair. It decayed slowly as slums and lesser buildings slowly surrounded it hiding it's beauty in their sullen shadows. In 1975, the house was purchased by the Reeves, who lovingly restored the house to its original splendor It was during this time that the house was shown in the tour of historic homes and became a popular visit for haunt jaunters. The house's basement was notoriously haunted by the ghost of Mary McCormick. Still tormented by her madness, she apparently made quite a ruckus at night.

In 2005 the house was bought by a family whose name I won't mention. Since that time, the ghosts have become the least interesting part of this house. The house has always been a favorite site for anyone visiting Huntsville because of its historic significance, its beauty, and its haunted history. Many people drive by the house and photograph it. Since 2005, however, the new owners have spent a considerable amount of time watching out for anyone lingering near the house. If you drive by slowly or stop in front of the house, a woman will emerge screaming at you. Sometimes she'll curse and sometimes she'll use the garden hose to spray your car. Other times she would shine a spotlight on you and others she'll take pictures of you with her cell phone. No matter what the new owner does, it was always hostile and she seems to always be watching. She sat day and night waiting for those that linger too long, which might make one wonder if Mary McCormick's mental illness might not be spreading? Perhaps the house and its dark secrets have driven the new owner mad? Perhaps madness is part of the curse of the house? I drove by the house several times during this owner's occupancy. I brought my children and parked across the street and would never think of harrassing anyone. The woman came screaming from her home all three times. One time she threw rocks at my car. One time she just cursed at my children and I and called the police. Another time she threw grass and called the police. We were not on her property, we just wanted to see the legendary house that I had read so much about. I visit all the local historic houses and have always been able to sit quietly in my car and take photos. Some owners even offer tours and are on local tours. Kildare Castle is different. It sits in a shadow that spreads out beyond its ghosts. It almost feels cursed.

Sadly, the reason most drive by these days is to see the owner run out and start screaming. Her wild antics have become a fun attraction for locals who stop by just to see her jump around and scream Few remember the ghost stories or the house's beautiful history.

The house has become even more infamous in recent years as the owner has tried to put up a massive fence (13 feet tall) and the city stopped construction. The owner then decided to demolish the house. The city and local history buffs are fighting this action but the outcome is as of yet, unpredictable. Since the owners behavior remains outlandish, the behavior of locals has gotten even worse. Kids love to see the owner flip out and will sit in front of the house and honk their horn for hours to get a response. It is a tragedy. Please read the comments below this post as they tell so many stories from people who have actually lived in this home and in the neighborhood.

Some of the footage and information on the ongoing struggles and controversies surrounding this historic beauty can be seen at: http://www.kildaremansion.com/

Do what happened to you when you went by? Did she come out screaming at you? Now I want to go just to see what happens. It reminds me of the U-Turn man incident I had in Denver. And people who act weird like this just draw more lookers when word spreads. But it's a gorgeous house. And it's just more intriguing because of its history!

I lived at 2606 Kildare street right down from the house. I move from that street about 3 months ago. I would get off from work and have to turn on kildare street right next to the house on every time me and my husban would pass the house the lady would shine a bright spot light into our car and it was so bright and big that you could feel the heat from the light shine in through our car. One day we drove home and we were playing the music and the lady got in her car and drove to our house as we were getting out to go in to our house and she got out yelling and screaming at us saying stop driving by her house playing music that we were disterbing her 100 guest and the next time she would call the police on un we said that we were sorry and it wouldnt happen again and she went back to her house. The thing was that there wasnt any cars in her yard all the light were off in the house except for the tv of the room that she sleeps in and that big spot light. Creepy old woman is mad and I think as well as others that live on that street is the house thats doing it to her....

I stopped to take pictures today. I knew nothing about this house except that it is a piece of art to look at. The woman stormed across the street. I waved and smiled thinking nothing of it. She came closer and yelled at me about how it was a private residence and her only ounce of privacy. She said it wasn't a museum and questioned why I was taking pictures. When I apologized, I think she realized I genuinely did no know anyone lived there and calmed down a little. I did research and and thrilled to learn this kind of evidence of Huntsville's history is still in great condition!! When the house goes on the market again, I hope that a petition for the city to buy it will start so the rest of us can enjoy the craftsmanship, history, and beauty that makes Huntsville what it is today.

rmmckinley... If you ever do get a petition together I would be happy to do whatever I can to help. This house is such a wonderful piece of Huntsville history I would love to help see that history protected.

Lady is a ninja. We always joke around that she's a witch. Not sure if that's true or not. She certainly hisses like one. Me and some friends were really intrigued by the house so me and a buddy went by there one night. I looked through my binoculars and all of a sudden a spotlight came into them. Crazy old lady said she'd called the cops and to get out of there. "Don't be lookin in my window with your binoculars!" she said. Me and my buddy got in my car which we parked at the church near the Kildar Mansion and started driving off. As we were driving we realized the lady was following us. She followed us a little ways and stopped. Then some other friends went by there on Halloween and like idiots honked the horn a bunch and drove by repeatedly. They went by with their windows down and the lady sprayed them inside their car with a water hose. Oh the stories all seem the same.

We've driven by there lots of times & she & the other lady that live there jumped in their cars & started chasing us & tried to corner us on a different street!! One came from in front of us & the other came from behind! Crazy Train boarding on platform 5!! These broads are CA-RAZYYYYY!! I'm sure it does get annoying to have people continuously drive by your house looking at it BUT that's what happens when you buy a historical piece of property such as this & it kind of comes with the territory if u know what I mean :-\

Maybe she's just pissed because she made the mistake of buying a house that was already a tourist site in the city. Maybe she's just pissed that she bought the house that everyone stares at and sits in front of. I'm sure a bunch of young douchebags try to vandalize or pester her too to try and make her come out. I'm sure having to put up with that constantly would piss off anyone enough to chase you off the property. In my opinion.

She is probably just pissed off cause people are stopping by the house all the time taking pictures and trying to break in the house cause they think it is haunted. Maybe she is just tired of everyone showing too much attention to her house and it makes her feel uncomfortable... maybe...

Yup, it happened to me today. Drove by with a friend because he had never seen the house. We are both theatre teachers very interested in architecture. We drove slowly by loving the house and it's quirky, eclectic Victorian style. We saw someone in the first floor window and jokingly said it must be a ghost. We then pulled in to turn around and head back out and drove slowly past one more time. It was then that she ran out with a video camera pointed at my car. It creeped me out because I had no idea she made a habit of this! Sad, really. Such a landmark and it's not in good repair. I would certainly support it's purchase by the city or by some entity that would care for it and restore it to it's original splendor.

I just went by there for the first time today.I have never heard of the house and I was driving down Oakwood ave when all of a sudden I saw that beautiful house..so we turned around and were slowly driving by and I was gonna take a picture with my cellphone when all of a sudden that crazy woman(which I did not know about) came out with this mirror like thing and was shining it at my car I was blinded by the thing she then proceeded to run out in her front yard and flash it in our eyes when we were driving back down Oakwood...I was in dibelief so I statred googling the house and low and behold everyone has some very similiar stories...This woman has to be crazy...sounds like the crazy lady who lived there in the early 1900"s has taken over this woman....anyone else got any good info about the house and its owner?

I let my girls talk me into taking them by there, needless to say I will never do that again... I almost peed my pants when she put the spot light in my face and the light followed us down oakwood,as the girls were screaming. We went at midnight, who in the world would be up to shine a spot light that late?

My family purchased this home in early 1966 from Jackie Smith Blackwell (a friend of "Eunice" on Andrew Jackson and a whole different story). We lived in this home during 1966-1967 years. I was in the 6th grade at Chapman Jr. High. It truly was a wonderful place to live. We have many memories that we frequently share. I love that it had a furnace in the basement for heating with forced air using the old style radiators in the rooms. It actually has a small room with a window in the attic, on the front of the house, where you can see the grounds. It was spooky climbing into the attic and not knowing what might be discovered; you had to go through a crawl space to get into the room which was about 6' x 8' in size. From the first floor main kitchen you get to the basement by going down a spiral shaped wooden staircase. One night I had to go turn off the basement light and I was barefoot; never grab and pull a metal chain when barefoot on a concerts floor! On my way down those stairs a bat flew at me. There is a large closet with beautiful stained glass on the double doors in the main living room; this must have been used for storing fine china and linens that were likely used for entertaining on a grand scale. The main floor had 10 or 12 foot ceilings, fireplaces everywhere and 3 kitchen areas. It had beautiful bear claw bathtubs throughout! There was a full bath in the basement as well. If my memory serves correctly, a total of 52 rooms including those in the basement. We loved sliding down the wood banister of the stairs from the 2nd floor to the 1st floor; these stairs are located just inside the main front door. Directly under the stairs on the first floor (at the highest end) was a door that opened to one set of stairs that went from first floor to basement. We actually had a water battle on the second floor one Saturday morning after breakfast but before we began our weekly cleaning. Now you know how my Saturday's were spent during that time. To turn the light on or off you pushed a button. And the elevator, yes it had one, however, it's known as a "dumb waiter" (not sure of spelling) and to go up or down you pulled a rope that was at least 1 inch in diameter and it was the original rope! There was a push button light switch in the dumb waiter. Today it still has the original fire escapes. In the basement is a wine cellar with the original wine racks, at least during the time we resided in the house. My favorite room in the entire place at the time, of course, was the round tower bedroom located on the 3rd floor. This will be on the left side if you are looking at the front of the house from the street. It has a huge veranda out back on the main floor. The small windows above the doors could be opened but it was difficult. At one time there was a small house to the right off the main house; we always believed a groundskeeper had lived in it at some point in time. The last I saw, this small house was rubble. It was rumored that the McCormick's had planned to cover the roof with silver dollars. At the top of the tall windows to the left side of the main entrance (in the upside down V) is the date and initials, McC, 1886. I always hoped to buy this place again someday and restore it to as much of its original glory as possible and make it into a bed a breakfast. I may attempt to post again and include some pics. Hope you enjoyed reading of my living experience.

A group of friends and I had heard about the house and decided to drive by and see it. Two men in suits stood outside and my friends went to talk to them, thinking they were just looking as well. The men started threatening my friends and a woman leaped over the fence with a baseball bat, chasing them back to our car. We had no bad intentions whatsoever but definitely won't be going back.

I had the same thing happen to me! I took a picture of her house and BAM she came out running behind my car and she wanted to know my address. She called the cops on me! My friend is a delivery driver for Dominos and she parked her car in front of the witches house and delivered the pizza to the house across the street from her(witch). While my friend was gone the witch freakig took a rock and busted out her windshield with it! This woman is a nut case!

I had no idea that was going on! I can't believe I haven't heard stories about it. I took a tour of it in the mid-80s when a small family lived there. The husband used to take tour through the house- I think it was $2 for kids and $4 for adults. He would tell you about the history of the house and he took you through the rooms that were restored.

They were slowly restoring the whole house, and the rooms that they had completed were gorgeous. I remember he said it had something like 17 fireplaces, and I was astounded that any house could have that many. He had a couple of young kids playing on the floor during the tour and we saw his wife in the kitchen cooking their dinner. It's too bad that that family doesn't still own the house. They were sweet people who seemed to really love it- and they didn't mind people wanting to come and see it.

I went tonight to see what it was all about and we drove by 5 times and once we saw a man who threw a rock at our car denting above the window. I don't see how thatis legal because the road is public property

okay, so we went to the masion tonight and drove by four times. the first time we didnt honk. the second and third time we did and nothing happened so we thought we would do it one more time and just when we thought we got away BAM!! something hit our car. we didnt know what it was but we were scared to death and we went to back home and found out there was a dent the size of a fat mans head. we thought we were being shot at. scariest moment of my life. my friend in the back seat was having an asthma attack and saw the rock boulder thing hit the car. i would advise everyone to NOT do that, if you want your car to be dentless.

Why would you want to HONK your horn? That's just rude and ignoramt. Consioder yourself lucky that you didn't get a bullet to your head----obnoxious behaior, like you and your friends exhibited, all deserve one.

Wow! We drove by several different "haunted" places in Huntsville today and this beautiful house was one of them. As most have done, we drove by slowly the first time looking. We then turned around to get a second look. As we slowly drove by the second time, a old lady appeared in the bushes. We thought she was watering her flowers at the time!! We all commented about how she "just appeared" because there was no sign of her the first time! Although the kids got spooked when they saw her, she didn't do anything. We searched the Internet on the way home and found out all these similar stories. Very interesting!!! And it sounds like we got lucky!! :)

I grew up admiring this house. When I took my daughter and friends by the house the same thing happened. The woman instantly appeared with a Q beam light and video camera. I rolled down my window (which freaked out everyone else in the car) and apologized for bothering her. I explained that I wanted to show the girls a beautiful part of Huntsville. She was NOT listening.

If you don't want to be disturbed and you like a private life, you probably shouldn't buy the historical, multi-colored, 17,000 sq ft mansion. Just sayin.

My husband and I rode by this house on a recent trip to Huntsville, and thankfully we did not see anyone. I was able to snap a few pictures of the house from my car, and I have posted them online. I have also found a set of pictures on flickr that has pictures of the inside of this house! I was absolutely amazed by the architecture of this wonderful building! Kildare Mansion

My friend's mom works for the Huntsville police and we drove by the house tonight and she was telling us that the police can't do anything about the lady throwing rocks at cars or anything because most people know about her and just drive by for fun so they're taking the risk.

I was in that area of town today for the first time and stumbled on the house and was awed by it architecture and beauty. I kept seeing here look at me when I drove by but could never get her attention - I kept calling as I approached & she chased me away swinging a pole in one hand, holding a camcorder in the other & threats in between. Knowing what I read, above, now - I can understand. The house is a marvel from a lost age. It's a terrible shame...that the house be locked away from the world & this poor lady be so

Be warned... this lady is dangerous! She assaulted a lady yesterday at 1:30 in the afternoon with a fishing rod. The lady was injured, pretty badly. Her offense.... taking pictures of the house with her cell phone! Oh yeah, she then took the victim's cell phone. If she has not been arrested yet.... she will be within 24 hours! What a nut job!!!

Haha, well I think she is crazy but its funny and you only live once, so i suggest everyone ride by there at least once or twice in your life! Its a thrill to see a crazy woman recording you on a public road! and if you really think about it, she is invading our privacy cause we are on public roads..

I think it is disgusting how so many people are finding it "humorous" or "entertaining" or "thrilling" even, to go drive be a STRANGERS house and cause a commotion to have the owner come out and yell at you. What else do you expect to happen? If someone drove by my house and honked their horn I would come out screaming too. But I guess since I don't live in a mansion it's not worth doing. Their house is NOT a museum. They are not there for your entertainment. That is where they live, and people are harassing them. I'm glad they are building their fence, I hope the City of Huntsville lets them finish it. I know if it were me, and that were my house and people behaved the way they did around it, I would build a damn fortress around it. Leave people alone, geez.

I look at this house every time I drive by and have noticed a few things. Starting out, they placed long sticks along the edge of the property. I thought it was for some sort of decoration then realized they left no way to drive their onto the property, until I saw the crazy lady moving the sticks so she could drive her car through. That's when I realized the damned snob didn't want anyone on her property. Dona said "I don't think so, she's a real nice lady". I stopped by the Shell for smokes and "Vieen-yas and crackers" for a fast lunch before heading back to work. I whipped around to Kildare and parked next to the stained glass lace to eat. Munching away I saw the crazy lady and kept on eating. Now here is the short conversation that pist me off.Her- can I help you?Me- no thank you, I'm fine.Her- you're on my propertyMe- uh, ok (thinking I didn't know she owned this place too, besides, I'm parked on the side of the road outside of this little plastic chain they have here now. WTF?!?)Her- I said, you are on my property!Me- Oh! I'm so sorry, I didn't see the sign saying "owned by crazy snob bitch!".I through my trash out the window and left. Now every time, I mean every time I go by there I through something out there.Anyway, they started with sticks, then piled up rocks to keep people out, now they got a damned 12' privacy fence going up all the way around the place. Progressively crazy, yes I think so.

Me and a few friends went by there yesterday and its true she does come out filming u and put a spot light in my face. Some man followed us for 30 minutes. I laughed and he nor she didn't intimidate me what-so-ever.

Thank you to the person lived there in the 60's who wrote the paragraph about it. I drove my husband by there a few weeks ago because he'd never seen it before. We didn't take photos, video, we didn't park, we didn't honk and we didn't throw garbage in the yard. I've read a great deal about the crazy lady that lives there and seen the videos. She apparently is not stable. That being said, don't drive by 5 times blowing the horn. Don't throw trash in the yard. Don't just park & stare. I don't care who they are or where they live, that's rude. Maybe if more people would have some respect, they wouldn't object to us simply driving by and admiring the beautiful house. It sounds like most people try to antagonize her, how does she know who is well meaning and who isn't? If she's crazy, well...don't poke the bear. It's not rocket science. Damn. And no. I am not her. Or him.

I appreciate all the recent comments about remembering to be respectful when viewing the house. It is important to be respectful and quiet when viewing any home! However, in the case of this house, I believe most people who go there just want to view the beauty of a house that has been part of our local history. Any time you live in or purchase a home of historical significance, people will stop by to look at the home. This isn't just with haunted homes. My family owned a historic home for many generations and we knew that people would stop by and look at the house and photograph it. It wasn't haunted, but it was part of the local history and people were interested in the house and its history. If you aren't comfortable with people stopping by your home who are interested in history, you shouldn't purchase a home of historical signficance. There are many beautiful homes that no one wants to see. I live in one now. Kildare Mansion is part of local history and people will always be interested in it. People will always drive by and photograph it. It is sad that this upsets the current owner so much, but most of the people who go to view the home are history or ghost story buffs who only want to view it quietly. They are not being rude or hostile. When I went to view it, I was in a minivan quietly sitting across the street. I didn't invade her property, leave the car, or make any noise. It is an amazing house and I just wanted to see it. The current owner attacked me and yelled profanity at me. I hope that some day the current owner will be more comfortable with people who love history viewing her home, because her home is extraordinary. I have viewed many, many historic homes across the nation and in other nations for this blog and never has anyone reacted like this.

I remember when my brother and I were little every time we passed it we would say something to our mom about the castle. So one day we were riding past and someone was doing so yard work. My mom asked if we could look at it l, they were very nice, and said yes. Of course we only saw the outside.

I remember when my brother and I were younger we would always say something to our mom about the castle whenever we passed it (which was a lot). One day someone was out doing some yard work and my mom asked if they minded if we got out and looked at it. They said yes and were very nice people even talked to us for a while.

Back in the late fifties when I went to Lincoln school, My buddy what running for king of 4th grade. You won by collecting pennies which each counted for one vote. We went to the castle as it was called back then. I think it was a boarding house at this time. For two young boys it was a scary place. When we went in the first thing we scared our self's with was the huge mirror to side of the giant stairs. We were sure it was a one way mirror and we were being watched some crazy killer. We got up our nerve and decided to go upstairs first. When we got there it was only one light in the middle of the long hall that didn't give much light thinking maybe a 60 watt bulb. Nobody came to any of the doors down either hall it didn't take us long to go back downstairs We out and there were apartments on the bottom floor and every door we nocked on nobody was home. The last door went to had a shade that was up about three inches above the glass window and we could see a hand crab the nob but never open the door. We then decided it was time to get the hell out of there. We didn't stop running to we got to Oakwood Ave. Haven't been back!!!!!

This lady is crazy.we have lived in this neighborhood for about 12 years.one day about 5 years ago.my son and daughter were walking around and happened to walk by this house.wekl my daughter who was 8 at the time stumbled into the edge of the grass.well as soon as here feet touched the grass the lady came out of nowhere screaming and yelling.she started cussing my kids telling them to stay away from her house.well they just kept walking.so she goes inside and comes back out with a camcorder and gets in her car and follows my kids home.she called the cops and continued videoing the kids the whole time.which I think should be against the law video taping kids.but anyways when the cops came to my house he said just make they don't go by her house anymore because she is crazy.

my bestfriend lives a few houses down from here, its in 5 points of huntsville alabama right off oakwood avenue, and yes there is a crazy lady in there. she will throw rocks, scream and yell. right now she is building a 15-20ft fence around the whole place, i hate to say this but i hope she dies or gets ran out of that place because ever since she moved in she let it fall apart

ok everyone to clear things up, i live in this area, it is in 5 points off oakwood avenue near lee high school, you can add me on facebook and see, yes this place is haunted and yes there is a crazy lady in there, not only does she spray you with a hose and scream but she will also throw rocks, right now she is building a 15-20 ft fence around the whole lot so nobody can see it. i fell bad saying this but i hope she gets ran out of the house or something because she is letting it fall apart. i for one plan on tying a chain to the fence and pulling it down, she has NO right to block off history like that......but anyways. if you are ever in the Huntsville, AL area be sure to come by to the 5 points area. its full of ghost and OLD houses, we even have little signs in the yards of the historic area with the original builder and year they were built, its BEAUTIFUL and intersting

I believe it is important to respect any home, historical or not. Its current and past residents are not the only souls that cause the heart of the house to beat; there is always the history go the land, before the house, to consider.

It's a shame the current owners are the way they are. Kildare Mansion is a beautiful home and should be enjoyed (at least from the outside) by all who drive by. It is sad that some people do not have any respect for other people and their property, honking their horn at all hours of the day and night disturbing the entire neighborhood, throwing their trash in yards and threatening to pull fences down. My mother was the editor for the Historic Huntsville Quarterly in the 70's, 80's. I wrote a paper on the history of the Kildare Mansion in 1978 or 1979 for a High School English class. I was fortunate enough to get to go in and have a tour of the down stairs and basement of this beautiful home. At the time there was a small antique shop on the 1st floor of the house. Channel 48 news reported that the owner is now going to tear down this beautiful landmark because the city of Huntsville won't let him build an 18 to 20 foot fence on the easement of their property. I sincerely hope that Huntsville's Historic Society will be able to prevent the owners from tearing down this amazing structure. It sounds like he is trying to cut off his nose to spite his face in this situation. If anyone gets up a petition to save the Kildare Mansion I would like to sign it.

Sadly enough, after losing the fight with the city about the fence, the owner has decided to gut the house and sell the parts. He said its worth more in pieces than as a whole house... They didnt give a date yet but it will soon be gone..

When I first noticed the house I actually stopped, knocked on the door (a man answered and identified himself as the owner) and I told him how beautiful the house was. He talked to me about it for a while and was really nice!!!

My ex husband I I owned the house from 1975 until 2005; Michael O'Shaughnessy built the house in 1986; he was from from Kildare County in Ireland. He owned it for about 10 years and then sold it to Cyrus McCormick who gave the house to his daughter Virginia. Hope this helps. Marion